Mossy Head is between DeFuniak Springs and Crestview
Walton Sun:
This small, rural community in northern Walton County is gaining popularity as a location for new development.
Mossy Head is already home to a 240-acre county industrial park and will soon be home to a large residential and commercial development called Blackstone.
A large-scale rural development is also in the works for an area north of Mossy Head.
The Walton County School District is planning to start construction by the end of the year on a new elementary school on 20 acres of land near the industrial park.
?Mossy Head is a good location,? said County Commissioner Larry Jones.
Blackstone, a project of Bonezzi Development, sits on 1,300 acres about half-amile east of State Road 285 and north of U.S. Highway 90.
Plans for Blackstone are still in the early stages. The project will include 3,300 homes and about 177,500 square feet of office and commercial space.
Because the project is so large, the developer must get county approval of a Development of Regional Impact application before any major work can be done.
Bob Bonezzi and David Campbell, developers of the project, could not be reached for comment.
Work on another project, Walton Plantation, is already under way.
The project by Destin developer Henry Maclin sits on 8,000 acres north of Mossy Head.
Walton Plantation is not a typical housing development. It will have no large construction projects and will preserve the agricultural and rural nature of the property, Jones said.
The development will include miles of horse trails, pasture and log cabins built at a rate of one cabin per 10 acres.
The developer has not filed any paperwork on the project with the county because there are no plans to rezone the property from agricultural, Jones said.
Maclin did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Mossy Head is about 15 miles west of DeFuniak Springs near State Road 285 and Interstate 10.
The community seems to be on its way to a growth spurt like the one currently ongoing in Freeport.
Like Freeport, Mossy Head is attracting developers because it has available land that is less expensive than property in South Walton County or Destin, Jones said.
Mossy Head?s proximity to Eglin Air Force Base is another attraction for developers, he said.
?BRAC is going to bring several thousand new jobs (to the base),? he said. ?Those people are going to have to live somewhere. Mossy Head will have good, solid workforce housing.?
Most of Mossy Head?s population of about 4,300 live below the federal poverty line, according to the Walton County Economic Development Council.
The new developments - especially the commercial phases of Blackstone - will bring in new businesses that could help jump-start the economy by creating new jobs, said Bob Smith, the EDC?s director.
?The good kind of growth and the right kind of growth is certainly good for that area,? he said.
Walton Sun:
This small, rural community in northern Walton County is gaining popularity as a location for new development.
Mossy Head is already home to a 240-acre county industrial park and will soon be home to a large residential and commercial development called Blackstone.
A large-scale rural development is also in the works for an area north of Mossy Head.
The Walton County School District is planning to start construction by the end of the year on a new elementary school on 20 acres of land near the industrial park.
?Mossy Head is a good location,? said County Commissioner Larry Jones.
Blackstone, a project of Bonezzi Development, sits on 1,300 acres about half-amile east of State Road 285 and north of U.S. Highway 90.
Plans for Blackstone are still in the early stages. The project will include 3,300 homes and about 177,500 square feet of office and commercial space.
Because the project is so large, the developer must get county approval of a Development of Regional Impact application before any major work can be done.
Bob Bonezzi and David Campbell, developers of the project, could not be reached for comment.
Work on another project, Walton Plantation, is already under way.
The project by Destin developer Henry Maclin sits on 8,000 acres north of Mossy Head.
Walton Plantation is not a typical housing development. It will have no large construction projects and will preserve the agricultural and rural nature of the property, Jones said.
The development will include miles of horse trails, pasture and log cabins built at a rate of one cabin per 10 acres.
The developer has not filed any paperwork on the project with the county because there are no plans to rezone the property from agricultural, Jones said.
Maclin did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Mossy Head is about 15 miles west of DeFuniak Springs near State Road 285 and Interstate 10.
The community seems to be on its way to a growth spurt like the one currently ongoing in Freeport.
Like Freeport, Mossy Head is attracting developers because it has available land that is less expensive than property in South Walton County or Destin, Jones said.
Mossy Head?s proximity to Eglin Air Force Base is another attraction for developers, he said.
?BRAC is going to bring several thousand new jobs (to the base),? he said. ?Those people are going to have to live somewhere. Mossy Head will have good, solid workforce housing.?
Most of Mossy Head?s population of about 4,300 live below the federal poverty line, according to the Walton County Economic Development Council.
The new developments - especially the commercial phases of Blackstone - will bring in new businesses that could help jump-start the economy by creating new jobs, said Bob Smith, the EDC?s director.
?The good kind of growth and the right kind of growth is certainly good for that area,? he said.
